Beyond the Blue

Yellow and gold as the new day dawns 
Like a virgin unveiled who waited so long 
To dance and rejoice and sing her song 
And rest in the arms of a love so strong 
No one comes unless they’re drawn 
By the voice of desire that leads em’ along 
To the redemption of what went wrong 
By the blood that coveres the innocent one 
No more separation 
Between us.






Josh Garrels, "Beyond the Blue"

The Watershed Benefit @ CG

Don't be square.

Look! I just learned to tie my shoes!

www.commongroundskc.com

Independence Day with a Capitol D.C. (pt. 1)

I am trying to live up to the standards of my picture-taking comrades (you know who you are) and document a thing or two...so here's to that...

We headed off for our first family vacation in eons, to Virginia to visit Uncle Randy, Aunt Gee Young, and cousins Rachel and Maria. It was especially great to spend the time with them for Independence Day as my uncle actively serves as a major in the army working in nuclear detection. We are so proud of him and thankful for his service.

 We were able to go to a rad amusement park as well as spend the 4th in the city! Here are a few snipets...

typical dilllon.

Rachel made my mom a huge bouquet of origami flowers. That's because she's a G.

"Hey, take a picture with me...(click)..Connor! Smile...."

..."Fine."

typical.

cousins!

We hit the "slopes," if you will, at the King's Dominion, a VA amusement park. Uncle Randy observes  his soon-coming demise on the Shockwave...

I found this particularly funny. Connor was lecturing me about how I've become too sensitive while my dad was pointing out the big bumble bees and the flowers.

18 hours in the car with family = some level of insanity
Connor first said that if I showed anyone this video he would disown me as his sister and question my Christianity (his words), so you didn't see this.

(just kidding, he eventually caved and said I could post it.)

Independence Day with a Capitol D.C. (pt.2)

Casablanca

Mom and I at the Lincoln

Standing in front of Abe gets me every time, though, the text struck me as a little creepy this go around.

Leaping laberdoodles! I continue to hope for  the day that my own puppy prayer will be answered.

In-your-face fireworks. At the nation's capital. Seated at the Washington monument. 

 Twas' the best 4th yet!

News Blog Name (Updated Poll)

The poll has been updated.

Here are some thoughts:
-Both "olivepress.com" and "theolivepress.com" are taken.
-Although I like the word play of "olive press," it sounds pretty grown-up/formal/overtly Biblical to me. Which may or may not be bad.
-The Glean sounds cool. URL is still available.
-You can vote on multiple names as well as enter your own idea under "other."
-I really like the tag "abstract" because not only does it mean "summary" but has eclectic artistic connotations too. I love word play.

One day this is going to be a real thing!

New News Blog Name

Abram->Abraham
Jacob->Israel
Simon->Peter/Kefa

Many significant people have undergone a name change to step into a new leg of their journey. It has come to the attention of the Shofar So Far contributors that said name may not be the best option when seeking to appeal to a wide audience.

Please help this news aggregate project step into its birthright. Give us your thoughts by participating in the poll!

He's Never Giving Up

[another nod to big cass' big project...don't give up, lil' cassio keyboard! ->

]

I found out about these people a while back from John Mark McMillan's blog. I first watched the "Sing Winter" and thought it was extra beautiful and a neat husband/wife combo.

I was listening to "Never Giving Up" the other day at work while I was closing. I was glad I was alone because I had an unexpected tearful encounter with the Father. At one point, a lady singer broke out and said "You're breaking off the disappointment of the season." Having been particularly disappointed at the season in which I find myself, I could feel the disappointment breaking in the light of the L-rd, in light of His promise never to leave- to never give up on me, on all of us who call on His name. I feel like I may be gaining some ground in the battle against disappointment, discouragement and discontent, one I've felt I've been losing for a while now. It seems like it's been challenge after curveball after confusing twist...but His love never stops and never quits, even if I don't see Him, feel Him, understand Him...
Jesus keeps asking me if I will follow Him. I'm trying to say yes. But to what?

I also highly recommend the "Abba" video. What an amazing space to play in! "Abba, I belong to you..."

It just seems like their music is really intimately worshipful and helps the L-rd speak to my heart, and me to speak to His. Maybe it's just me, where I am now...

...but hopefully it does the same for you too. :)

Up-and-Coming Irish Folk and Polka Fusion Band

Benjamin Netanyahu is my President.

This is on shofar, but I think it is definitely worth everyone watching so I'm posting it here, too.



Does anyone want to help make a cooler t-shirt than this one?

this is pretty + some thoughts on work

sam told me about him. i love the tunes and this art, now, just as much as the tunes. 

i wish i could make stuff like this.

Praise the L-rd, He provided for me to audit an Adobe Dreamweaver class for free shortly after I was pricing the classes on my own. He is the networker of networkers! So, 8 hours a day for today and the next 2 days will be spend learning this web design software. What an amazing world web design is. i have new-found appreciation for the many sites i frequent on a daily basis.

If i were a professional web designer making an average industry rate, i could theoretically make in 1-2 days what i now make in 2 weeks. The ideal of the liberal arts degree is at this moment looking just that: ideal. The older i get, the more bills i have to pay, the more of a capitalist i become.

“Any 20 year-old who isn't a liberal doesn't have a heart, and any 40 year-old who isn't a conservative doesn't have a brain.” -Winston Churchill

Can one break the curse on humankind having to work for a living? Then i could remain a liberal idealist libertarian advocate of a theocratic republic and sleep 8 hours a night.

News Blog Research

If you don't mind and you have a couple extra minutes, please take a moment to answer a few questions on http://shofarsofar.tumblr.com/ . This will help a lot in developing what the blog will be. Thanks much!

Don't feed poison to your skin.

I thought about posting this on shofar but decided that it was a little too "topic-y" for the news.Plus, the article is older than a mug.

This article by this New York Times op-ed author talks about the toxicity in many cosmetics and personal care products.

Then I found about The Campaign For Safe Cosmetics.This site has a lot of info, including a searchable database of companies who have signed the Compact for Safe Cosmetics. In order to meet the requirements for the compact, companies have to:

1. Comply with the EU Cosmetics Directive.
2. Disclose all ingredients.
3. Publish and regularly update product information in EWG's Skin Deep database.
4. Comply with ingredient prohibitions and restrictions under the Compact for Safe Cosmetics and substitute ingredients of concern with safer alternatives.
5. Substantiate the safety of all products and ingredients with publicly available data.
6. Participate in the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics.

There is a more in-depth explanation of everything on the site. Those of you who want to avoid poison absorption via skin, check it out.

I may try to find local retailers of some of these products. But hey, there's always Whole Foods. They're not necessarily guaranteed to be free of green washing, but it's a start.

In the realm of lotion, I personally have become a fan of straight-up coconut oil. It's solid until emulsified which makes it easy to apply (unless your house if hot, then it starts to morph into chunky liquid which gets messy). Can't beat pure plant.

I am the type that needs emotional motivation and like-minded community to affect personal change usually, as opposed to people who are astonishingly able to act purely on principle (e.g. raw foods diet- I was strong when I was doing it with friends and had the excitement and passion. Now I've slacked off big time due to lack of discipline. Ah! The guilt! Repentance is coming...). I say this to say, if anyone is interested in digging more into this with me, feel free to lend your support and involvement.

The Smell of God

The portion of the Torah for this week is a section that contains many commandments pertaining to justice and holiness. It is impossible to miss the idea that these commandments are flowing from the mouth, from the very character of the God of Israel.

“'Each of you must respect his mother and father, and you must observe my Sabbaths. I am the LORD your God. “ (19:3)

“'Do not turn to idols or make gods of cast metal for yourselves. I am the LORD your God. “ (19:4)

It’s interesting that the Lord doesn’t add that tag to only the commands pertaining directly to Him.

" 'Do not steal. " 'Do not lie. " 'Do not deceive one another. 'Do not swear falsely by my name and so profane the name of your God. I am the LORD. “ (19:11-12)

" 'Rise in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere your God. I am the LORD. “ (19:32)

“'When an alien lives with you in your land, do not mistreat him. The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native-born. Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt. I am the LORD your God.” (19:33)

These are just a few examples among many. Whether the command pertains to idolatry, sexual purity, ethics, respect for others, hospitality or general human dignity, it is nearly always follow by “I am the LORD your God” or “I am Adonai.”

God spells it out to the letter for the Israelites at the covenant made at Sinai- what to do, what not to do and what should happen if you do what you’re not to do. Although some of this may be blurry to us now, considering our place in history and cultural context (and identify as Gentiles), God was clear and direct about what it would look like to live inside His kingdom, to come under his authority and protection in a covenant relationship.

Love God. Love neighbor. If we were to squeeze, crush and grind the Law, Prophets and life and teachings of Jesus we would extract these essential oils. This is the fragrance of the kingdom.

“But thanks be to God, who in the Messiah constantly leads us in a triumphal procession and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of what it means to know him! For to God we are the aroma of the Messiah, both among those being saved and among those being lost;  (I Cor. 2:14-15)

How can we carry this aroma if we don’t know what God requires? If we are selecting our own principles of righteousness based on tradition, upbringing, intuition or anything else, how can we be sure we actually smell like Jesus Christ, the Messiah of Israel? How can we be sure it’s not…something else.

Jesus didn’t come to abolish the law; He came to fulfill it. And fulfill it, He did. He embodied  what it means to live inside the kingdom of God, which means living according to the Law of God.Jesus won a victory against Satan himself by declaring that man does not live by bread alone but by every word proceeding out of the mouth of God. The Law given to Israel proceeded directly out of the mouth of God to Moses and the people.

We are to be filled with love (according to how the Lord defines love). We are to do justice (according to how the Lord defines justice). We are to welcome the foreigner- the refugee. We are to remain sexually pure. We are to keep a Sabbath, a day of rest. We don’t steal, or cheat or slander one another. We are to be the aroma of the Messiah, both among those being saved and those being lost, for He is the LORD our God!

We are called to smell like the Messiah. But first we have to know what he smells like. For he and the Father are one, as we too are to be one. The Father spelled it out that day at the mountain. And Jesus lived it out. Let us smell like him, that all would be drawn in to the Kingdom. Sometimes these oils are squeezed out through suffering, through patience, through challenge, but may I, may we continue in the pursuit of knowing Him, and in knowing him knowing His Law, that we might bleed the smell of our Lord.

Sad Plants

Poor sad plants, yearning to breathe fresh air...
Soon! Very soon! Please just hold on a little bit longer. I don't want frost to hurt you.